Economical food consumption means sparing use of food supplies, minimum costs of food production process and responsibility considering the environment and the consumers. Economical food consumption is a broad concept and it can be described and acted out from many different viewpoints. In this manual, some of the traditional Finnish economical food consumption traditions are introduced. Bigger food packages are cheaper! In Finland people are living in a Supermarket- culture, where food shopping happens mainly in huge markets and people buy large amounts of food that will last for many days and will feed the whole family. There are many reasons for these manners but the some of the main causes might be long distances from cities, busy lifestyles and lack of market place- and specialised shops –culture.
In supermarkets the package sizes of food supplies are often quite large. For example, the average package size for minced meat often varies from 400 to 600 grams and there can be approximately 12 to 24 slices of bread in one pouch. From economical point of view, it is reasonable to buy these bigger packages. For example, the price per kilogram is much cheaper in big packages and the savings can be remarkable compared to small packages. It is anyhow important to be conscious of the fact that buying big packages is economical only if all the food will be consumed. Below you can find a few tips for being economical! Food storing, freezing food and creating variable meals from same ingredients Big package sizes can be practical for extended families, but challenging for single people. Those challenges can anyhow be outplayed easily if food is stored carefully by following the detailed instructions of different ingredients. For example, meat spoils quite easily and that’s why it is really important to keep it in the refrigerator in under +6 Celsius temperature. The better you store in the ingredient, for example in little containers covered with airtight lids or foil, the longer you can use it! Another common manner in Finland is also to freeze food in deep freezers. This is especially advisable for single people, when they cook enough food to last for more than a few days. All food that has been frozen, stays edible longer than in a normal refrigerator and it is easy, because almost every household in Finland has a deep freezer. Ready meals keep fine in deep freezers for example for 3-4 months, meat approximately for 6 months and bread for 3 months. Besides, freezing alleviates your everyday hurries when you can just take a separate meal from the deep freezer and warm it up! Buying big food packages and preparing huge amounts of food at the same time can sometimes be a repulsive and tiresome thought. It is anyhow possible to get some variability to the meals by modifying the main ingredient or fixing the side dishes. For example, one day it is possible to eat chicken with pasta and the next day you can conjure the chicken to a delicious soup! Brand has a big matter for the price! In Finland there is a huge selection of groceries in big supermarkets and same product can be found from numerous different brands. Some of the well-known products (familiar from television commercials or globally known brands) can be considerably more pricey than some of their rivals. Naturally advertising can raise the prices for products. However, above-mentioned products are neither always economical nor correspondent for the sustainable development principles. Cheaper and often good quality products can be found from many less known brands. Sometimes products might also be exactly the same even though the packaging and the name of the brand can affect the price. Grocery store chains There are a few dominant grocery store chains in Finland. They also have their own brands that offer food products in affordable prices. K-market, K-supermarket & K-Citymarket are all grocery stores of the K-chain. The difference in the names comes from the size of the shop, Citymarket being the largest of them. Many other shops and restaurants are also part of the chain. Pirkka is probably the most traditional and best known out of the chain's own brands. Euroshopper and K-menu are more recent brands that have entered the shelves of K-chain shops. Euroshopper is a European discount brand of everyday commodities, and has both international and national products. K-menu was launched only very recently; its aim is to extend its variety of products and to offer products with very cheap prices. If you like to use K-markets, K-supermarkets or K-Citymarkets to your grocery shoppings, it would be worth to acquire a "K-plussa -kortti", a card which brings you many discounts of daily shoppings! You can order the discount card from this websites (tilaa k-plussa -kortti): K-plussakortti S-market, Prisma, Alepa & Sale are all grocery stores of a well known S-group, and many other types of shops, restaurants and bars are part of it too. Prisma is an S-group supermarket. S-group has three of its own product brands, Rainbow,Xtra and Kotimaista. Rainbow has been on market since 1967, so it has become a well-known brand in Finland. Xtra on the other hand, is a brand sold all over the Nordic countries. Kotimaista is the newest of S-groups brands, as it was only launched in 2014. All of its products are fully produced in Finland from Finnish ingredients.
Alike with K-chains, also S-group, that is to say S- market, Prisma, Alepa and Sale has its own discount card, "S-Etukortti". S-Etukortti brings also many good discounts from different restaurants, bars and for example Sokos - department store, which you can find beneath. Behind this link you can order your own S-Etukortti (cklick: "Liity asiakasomistajaksi - hanki S-Etukortti") Lidl is a German grocery store chain that is internationally known for its cheap prices. Siwa and Valintatalo are small Finnish grocery stores with often extended opening hours. Seasonal products and products from the Finnish nature In Finland the year is divided in four seasons; spring, summer, autumn and winter. Every season has its own food specialities but naturally the best possibilities to grow vegetables or pick products from the nature in Finland take place to warm months in summer. Some seasonal products are picked in the autumn, too. Many Finnish food traditions are based on annual holidays or on products that are only available seasonally. Seasonally based dietary habits can sometimes be hard to follow, especially at the winter, but with the right attitude and knowledge it is possible. Nowadays the supermarkets have also started to support the seasonal thinking more and more. This is because seasonal products are fresh, cheap and ecological. In addition, seasonal products can be very different from each other depending on where in Finland you travel. In order to support sustainable development, it is worthwhile to favour local small entrepreneurs and producers. In addition, it can be really exciting to experience local food specialities, such as saaristolaisleipä (Finnish Archipelago bread), Karjalanpaisti (Carelian pot-roast), poronkäristys (sautéed reindeer), mustamakkara (blood sausage), or kalakukko (fish baked inside a loaf of bread). (poronkäristys: www.reseptitaivas.fi) (mustamakkara: www.maajakotitalousnaiset.fi) (kalakukko: www.kotikokki.net) At the bright and warm seasons, spring and summer, it is reasonable to prepare food in a barbecue, smoke fish or meat and eat raw food as much as possible. In the autumn it is common to simmer different vegetables and at the winter time preparing food in the oven is recommended. Oven warms up the whole apartment at the same time and that is ecological. There are many food products that can be grown in peoples' own greenhouses or gardens. Those are for example carrot, cucumber, tomato, strawberry and apple. Products that can be found wild in nature are blueberry, wild strawberry, cloudberry, game (reindeer, willow, grouse) and fish. (blueberry, mustikka: www.suomenluonto.fi) (wild strawberry, metsämansikka: www.ennenvanha.fi) (cloudberry, lakka: www.arctic-flavours.fi) Typical examples of seasonal and sustainable food: Spring: earlies (=potatoes that are from the new harvest), seasonal fish (for example pike or perch) Summer: earlies, root vegetables, onion, lettuce, cauliflower, strawberries, raspberries, blueberriesAutumn: cucumber, corn, apple, berries, mushrooms, elkWinter: carrot, yellow turnip, hare roast, dried vegetables Public right of access, fishing and national clearances in Finland Public right of access means that everyone has the right to use the nature regardless of who owns the area. Public rights of access are extensive for picking up food productions from the nature. People are allowed to pick up natural berries and mushrooms and go fishing and ice fishing. However, extensive fishing and hunting without pertinent permission is forbidden. In addition to the previous, there are separate and more strictly rules on conservation areas. Fishing with hook and line and ice fishing are permissible for everybody. For any other type of fishing there is a need to buy a fishing license. Licenses can be bought for example from R-kioski shop or internet. The type of the license depends on where the fisherman fishes, what is his age and which equipment he uses for fishing. The most typical edible fishes are perch, pike, pikeperch, salmon, Baltic herring and coalfish. Hunting has been an important livelihood for Finnish people for long time. Nowadays it has become more like a hobby for many people. For legal hunting, you first need to complete a hunting qualification and buy a hunting license. Animals that are hunted are called game. Game is a term that covers many species, such as goose, duck, hare, deer and elk. Dictionary:Finnish Archipelago bread = saaristolaisleipäCarelian pot-roast = Karjalanpaisti cloudberry = lakkagame = riistagrouse = riekko earlies = uudet perunatperch = ahvenpike = haukipikeperch = kuhasalmon =lohi Baltic herring = silakkapollock =seitideer = peuraPublic right of access = jokamiehenoikeudet References: (http://riista.fi/metsastys/)http://www.expat-finland.com/shopping_in_finland/groceries.html(http://kehittyvaelintarvike.fi/teemajutut/hyva-paha-ruoka)(http://www.ruokatieto.fi/ruokakasvatus/ruokaketju-ruuan-matka-pellolta-poytaan/keittio/raaka-aineiden-sailytys-kotona/raaka-aineiden-sailytys)(http://www.evira.fi/portal/fi/elintarvikkeet/tietoa+elintarvikkeista/kasittely+ja+sailyttaminen/lampotila/tietoa+sailytysajoista)(http://www.premier-stores.co.uk/our-brands/euro-shopper.html)(http://www.pirkka.fi/vastuullisuus)(http://uusimusta.squarespace.com/etusivu/2010/9/14/kausiruokaa-voi-syoda-talvellakin.html) (http://kalastusluvat.net/tietoa_kalastusluvista/tarvittavat_luvat_ja_maksut.html)(http://kalastus.com/artikkelit/kalaruoka) (https://www.s-kanava.fi/uutinen/rainbow-tuoteperhe-kasvaa/129276_66560)(http://patarumpu.fi/2014/03/12/s-ryhma-tuo-markkinoille-uuden-kotimaista-merkin/)(http://www.k-ruoka.fi/k-kaupassa/tutustu-k-ruokakauppojen-uuteen-k-menu-tuotesarjaan/)
Bigger food packages are cheaper!
In Finland people are living in a Supermarket- culture, where food shopping happens mainly in huge markets and people buy large amounts of food that will last for many days and will feed the whole family. There are many reasons for these manners but the some of the main causes might be long distances from cities, busy lifestyles and lack of market place- and specialised shops –culture.
In supermarkets the package sizes of food supplies are often quite large. For example, the average package size for minced meat often varies from 400 to 600 grams and there can be approximately 12 to 24 slices of bread in one pouch. From economical point of view, it is reasonable to buy these bigger packages. For example, the price per kilogram is much cheaper in big packages and the savings can be remarkable compared to small packages. It is anyhow important to be conscious of the fact that buying big packages is economical only if all the food will be consumed. Below you can find a few tips for being economical!
Food storing, freezing food and creating variable meals from same ingredients
Big package sizes can be practical for extended families, but challenging for single people. Those challenges can anyhow be outplayed easily if food is stored carefully by following the detailed instructions of different ingredients. For example, meat spoils quite easily and that’s why it is really important to keep it in the refrigerator in under +6 Celsius temperature. The better you store in the ingredient, for example in little containers covered with airtight lids or foil, the longer you can use it!
Another common manner in Finland is also to freeze food in deep freezers. This is especially advisable for single people, when they cook enough food to last for more than a few days. All food that has been frozen, stays edible longer than in a normal refrigerator and it is easy, because almost every household in Finland has a deep freezer. Ready meals keep fine in deep freezers for example for 3-4 months, meat approximately for 6 months and bread for 3 months. Besides, freezing alleviates your everyday hurries when you can just take a separate meal from the deep freezer and warm it up!
Buying big food packages and preparing huge amounts of food at the same time can sometimes be a repulsive and tiresome thought. It is anyhow possible to get some variability to the meals by modifying the main ingredient or fixing the side dishes. For example, one day it is possible to eat chicken with pasta and the next day you can conjure the chicken to a delicious soup!
Brand has a big matter for the price!
In Finland there is a huge selection of groceries in big supermarkets and same product can be found from numerous different brands. Some of the well-known products (familiar from television commercials or globally known brands) can be considerably more pricey than some of their rivals. Naturally advertising can raise the prices for products. However, above-mentioned products are neither always economical nor correspondent for the sustainable development principles. Cheaper and often good quality products can be found from many less known brands. Sometimes products might also be exactly the same even though the packaging and the name of the brand can affect the price.
Grocery store chains
There are a few dominant grocery store chains in Finland. They also have their own brands that offer food products in affordable prices.
K-market, K-supermarket & K-Citymarket are all grocery stores of the K-chain. The difference in the names comes from the size of the shop, Citymarket being the largest of them. Many other shops and restaurants are also part of the chain. Pirkka is probably the most traditional and best known out of the chain's own brands. Euroshopper and K-menu are more recent brands that have entered the shelves of K-chain shops. Euroshopper is a European discount brand of everyday commodities, and has both international and national products. K-menu was launched only very recently; its aim is to extend its variety of products and to offer products with very cheap prices.
If you like to use K-markets, K-supermarkets or K-Citymarkets to your grocery shoppings, it would be worth to acquire a "K-plussa -kortti", a card which brings you many discounts of daily shoppings! You can order the discount card from this websites (tilaa k-plussa -kortti): K-plussakortti
S-market, Prisma, Alepa & Sale are all grocery stores of a well known S-group, and many other types of shops, restaurants and bars are part of it too. Prisma is an S-group supermarket. S-group has three of its own product brands, Rainbow, Xtra and Kotimaista. Rainbow has been on market since 1967, so it has become a well-known brand in Finland. Xtra on the other hand, is a brand sold all over the Nordic countries. Kotimaista is the newest of S-groups brands, as it was only launched in 2014. All of its products are fully produced in Finland from Finnish ingredients.
Alike with K-chains, also S-group, that is to say S- market, Prisma, Alepa and Sale has its own discount card, "S-Etukortti". S-Etukortti brings also many good discounts from different restaurants, bars and for example Sokos - department store, which you can find beneath. Behind this link you can order your own S-Etukortti
(cklick: "Liity asiakasomistajaksi - hanki S-Etukortti")
Lidl is a German grocery store chain that is internationally known for its cheap prices. Siwa and Valintatalo are small Finnish grocery stores with often extended opening hours.
Seasonal products and products from the Finnish nature
In Finland the year is divided in four seasons; spring, summer, autumn and winter. Every season has its own food specialities but naturally the best possibilities to grow vegetables or pick products from the nature in Finland take place to warm months in summer. Some seasonal products are picked in the autumn, too.
Many Finnish food traditions are based on annual holidays or on products that are only available seasonally. Seasonally based dietary habits can sometimes be hard to follow, especially at the winter, but with the right attitude and knowledge it is possible. Nowadays the supermarkets have also started to support the seasonal thinking more and more. This is because seasonal products are fresh, cheap and ecological. In addition, seasonal products can be very different from each other depending on where in Finland you travel. In order to support sustainable development, it is worthwhile to favour local small entrepreneurs and producers. In addition, it can be really exciting to experience local food specialities, such as saaristolaisleipä (Finnish Archipelago bread), Karjalanpaisti (Carelian pot-roast), poronkäristys (sautéed reindeer), mustamakkara (blood sausage), or kalakukko (fish baked inside a loaf of bread).
At the bright and warm seasons, spring and summer, it is reasonable to prepare food in a barbecue, smoke fish or meat and eat raw food as much as possible. In the autumn it is common to simmer different vegetables and at the winter time preparing food in the oven is recommended. Oven warms up the whole apartment at the same time and that is ecological. There are many food products that can be grown in peoples' own greenhouses or gardens. Those are for example carrot, cucumber, tomato, strawberry and apple. Products that can be found wild in nature are blueberry, wild strawberry, cloudberry, game (reindeer, willow, grouse) and fish.
(blueberry, mustikka: www.suomenluonto.fi) (wild strawberry, metsämansikka: www.ennenvanha.fi) (cloudberry, lakka: www.arctic-flavours.fi)
Typical examples of seasonal and sustainable food:
Spring: earlies (=potatoes that are from the new harvest), seasonal fish (for example pike or perch) Summer: earlies, root vegetables, onion, lettuce, cauliflower, strawberries, raspberries, blueberriesAutumn: cucumber, corn, apple, berries, mushrooms, elkWinter: carrot, yellow turnip, hare roast, dried vegetables
Public right of access, fishing and national clearances in Finland
Public right of access means that everyone has the right to use the nature regardless of who owns the area. Public rights of access are extensive for picking up food productions from the nature. People are allowed to pick up natural berries and mushrooms and go fishing and ice fishing. However, extensive fishing and hunting without pertinent permission is forbidden. In addition to the previous, there are separate and more strictly rules on conservation areas.
Fishing with hook and line and ice fishing are permissible for everybody. For any other type of fishing there is a need to buy a fishing license. Licenses can be bought for example from R-kioski shop or internet. The type of the license depends on where the fisherman fishes, what is his age and which equipment he uses for fishing. The most typical edible fishes are perch, pike, pikeperch, salmon, Baltic herring and coalfish.
Hunting has been an important livelihood for Finnish people for long time. Nowadays it has become more like a hobby for many people. For legal hunting, you first need to complete a hunting qualification and buy a hunting license. Animals that are hunted are called game. Game is a term that covers many species, such as goose, duck, hare, deer and elk.
Dictionary:Finnish Archipelago bread = saaristolaisleipäCarelian pot-roast = Karjalanpaisti cloudberry = lakkagame = riistagrouse = riekko earlies = uudet perunatperch = ahvenpike = haukipikeperch = kuhasalmon =lohi Baltic herring = silakkapollock =seitideer = peuraPublic right of access = jokamiehenoikeudet
References: (http://riista.fi/metsastys/)http://www.expat-finland.com/shopping_in_finland/groceries.html(http://kehittyvaelintarvike.fi/teemajutut/hyva-paha-ruoka)(http://www.ruokatieto.fi/ruokakasvatus/ruokaketju-ruuan-matka-pellolta-poytaan/keittio/raaka-aineiden-sailytys-kotona/raaka-aineiden-sailytys)(http://www.evira.fi/portal/fi/elintarvikkeet/tietoa+elintarvikkeista/kasittely+ja+sailyttaminen/lampotila/tietoa+sailytysajoista)(http://www.premier-stores.co.uk/our-brands/euro-shopper.html)(http://www.pirkka.fi/vastuullisuus)(http://uusimusta.squarespace.com/etusivu/2010/9/14/kausiruokaa-voi-syoda-talvellakin.html) (http://kalastusluvat.net/tietoa_kalastusluvista/tarvittavat_luvat_ja_maksut.html)(http://kalastus.com/artikkelit/kalaruoka)
(https://www.s-kanava.fi/uutinen/rainbow-tuoteperhe-kasvaa/129276_66560)(http://patarumpu.fi/2014/03/12/s-ryhma-tuo-markkinoille-uuden-kotimaista-merkin/)(http://www.k-ruoka.fi/k-kaupassa/tutustu-k-ruokakauppojen-uuteen-k-menu-tuotesarjaan/)